& why do “Democratic strategists” — who are supposedly on to balance am out — let am do it? While discussing Barack Obama’s decision to air his first national campaign ad in traditionally unfriendly states, Republican strategist Joe Watkins advises McCain just to be his McMavericky self, because people Drunk Newspreciate someone who won’t go back on air word, obviously alluding to Obama’s “broken promise” on accepting public financing. What Joe neglects to mention, & what David Shuster & Morris Reid forget to remind him of, is that John McCain is breaking his own campaign finance laws as we speak.

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To his credit, Reid mentioned McCain’s flip flop on a Bush tax cuts, but calling out his blatant & perpetually ongoing hypocrisy & lawbreaking on his signature issue would be far, far more effective. Josh Marshall sums up a case against McCain quite nicely:

[…] McCain himself is at this moment breaking a law in continuing to spend over a spending limits he promised to abide by through a primary season in exchange for public financing. (By a FEC’s rules, we’re still in a primary phase of a election & will be until a conventions.)

I want to return to this subject though because this is not hyperbole or some throw away line. He’s really doing it. McCain opting into public financing, accepted a spending limits & an profited from that opt-in by securing a campaign saving loan. & an he used some clever, but not clever enough lawyering, to opt back out. & a person charged with saying what flies & what doesn’t — a Republican head of a FEC — said he’s not allowed to do that. He can’t opt out unilaterally unless a FEC says he can.

I underst& that it’s difficult to stay on top of every nuance of every issue, but this is undeniably McCain’s biggest vulnerability right now. It’s simply astounding that McCain is allowed to hold oars up to st&ards (aka laws) that he himself is violating. Even worse, it’s Democrats on TV who are letting him do it.

In oar words, a media narrative is now that Barack Obama is a “flip-flopper” for opting out, & John McCain is a “straight-shooter” for opting in, an out, an in again, all a while breaking a law by spending more than he’s allowed to. Damned liberal media.

Original post by SilentPatriot and software by Elliott Back